John Reynolds, Texas Tribune

Reporter, Texas Tribune

John Reynolds is the newsletters editor for the Tribune. Prior to that, he was a reporter for Quorum Report, a non-partisan online political newsletter focusing on the ins and outs under the Dome, for more than seven years – covering the waterfront from health and human services and redistricting to pensions and elections. A native of Atlanta, Ga., he started his journalistic career one day after the attacks of Sept. 11 in Lubbock, Texas, where he rotated through a slew of beats at The Avalanche-Journal. He received his undergraduate degree from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and studied at the University of Georgia's graduate school in journalism. When not at work, he actively attempts to convince himself he is adept at tennis with varying levels of success. And he has adopted the Austin custom of appreciating smoked meats and listening to music in grassy/muddy fields.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz easily won the presidential preference straw poll held at the Texas GOP’s state convention Saturday, crushing outgoing Gov. Rick Perry and several other early contenders for the 2016 nomination. Cruz took 43.4 percent of the vote, according to results announced at the close of the convention. Ben Carson, a columnist and neurosurgeon from Michigan, came in second with 12.2 percent, edging Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, who came in third place with 12.1 percent. In something of a surprise, Perry, who made a failed presidential attempt in 2012, came in fourth place with 11.7 percent.

U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman , R-Friendswood, has filed to run against U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the March GOP primary, joining at least eight other hopefuls vying for the senior senator's seat, according to a spokesman with the Republican Party of Texas. Stockman, who had filed for re-election in Congressional District 36, had to withdraw from that race to seek Cornyn's seat.